Scott Crowley
5579
07/06/2010

MNP-Body

Compliance to Bill 168 begins with a risk assessment. A risk assessment evaluates the risks of workplace violence that may arise from the nature of the workplace (e.g., crime surrounding building location), the type of work (e.g., working in a high risk industry such as health care) or the conditions of work (e.g., working late nights/early mornings or working alone).

A risk assessment begins with the identification of current risks. As risks can be present in a variety of ways, the following will help organizations to identify their risks:

Interviewing employees to understand their interpretation of current guidelines or policies

Identifying the factors at the workplace that may contribute to a risk of violence (e.g., handling cash or valuable goods)

Once risks have been identified, these risks must be assessed. Assessment of risks should take into consideration the likelihood of violence occurring (e.g., would a perpetrator have the means, motive or opportunity to commit a violent act on one of your employees) and assess the current controls that are in place to reduce violent incidents.

The last step in the risk assessment is developing mitigation strategies to deter, deny, detect, respond to, report and prevent workplace violence.Various response strategies are available for a given risk and consideration should be given to the organization’s level of risk tolerance when selecting and determining these strategies.

For more information on how MNP can assist your organization with conducting your Workplace Violence Risk Assessment, please contact Scott Crowley, at 416.260.3277